Reasoning behind z97 instead of x99 can be found here:
http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=199864
One of the great sources of information IMO in that thread is from jasonlylevene.
"It's different if you're not gaming. I'm a developer, not a gamer, so higher core count returns dividends, whereas gamers need fast cores. This is where X99 is attractive. The 6 and 8 core chips on X99 would be of interest, but the cost is beyond reason without strong motivation. Some of the 8 core chips are $1,000. The one thing X99 gives us over Z97 is a larger PCIe lane inventory. You won't see dual 16x PCIe on Z97, but it's possible on X99. Reviews show, however, that current GPU offerings dont really benefit much from that. Similarly X99 supports DDR4, at a price premium. Higher RAM speeds are possible, but we see in reviews it returns very little if any recognizable gaming performance."
Heatsink…I was under the impression Air vs AIO were about the same in terms of cooling. Found this chart which is nice.
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=2771&page=5 Looks like the aio glacer 240l beats the hyper 212 by about 7 degrees F. Seems like it’s worth getting the aio to me.
As far as the ram I loaded everything in pcpartpicker to see if it’d be cheaper (boy was it) and pcpartpicker notified me the ram and proc were not compatible and the ram would have to be undervolted. When picking new ram I bounced to the other extreme of: low timing instead of high frequency. Somewhat certain timing is often considered better for gaming? I really need to find some charts on timing vs frequency for gaming. Here is a slightly different / up to date version of what I’m considering.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B8JvhM
Regarding PSU. Honestly I have close to zero idea how to go about picking a “good” psu or even what my system requirements are. I noticed the pcpartpicker “Estimated Wattage 541” but do not know how accurate that is and how much you should over watt a psu. I do know if you want to er on the side of caution you want bigger rather than smaller. I also understand the Platinum/Gold/etc. certification system they have in place. Basically filtered 1k+, sorted by rating, and picked a PSU based off rating/cost.
Motherboard is overpriced too eh? What do you think should I be looking for in a MB at that price bracket?
As far as the keyboard not being mechanical, lol =P. One of my crazy little things is I insist on having an “ergo” keyboard. I really really wanted to get a truly split ergo keyboard this time around. Something like
https://www.kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/ or
http://matias.ca/ergopro/pc/ However I have a Logitech G13 pad which I LOVE. It’s the first device that allowed me to (relatively) easily bind all my abilities (to one hand) as a druid in WoW when I played. Yay for keybindings. Point being about the G13, I want a keyboard that has a similar feel as I would probably hate the G13 if I got use to mechanical. The freestyle2 fit this requirement but I read it had ghosting issues. The matias ergopro is just too expensive AND you have to wait for another production line. Additionally the keys would probably feel way too different because they use “Matias Quiet Click mechanical switches.”
This machine is primarily being built for Skyrim on ultra with a crap-ton of mods and Crysis on ultra. I will definitely be making a ton of modifications before buying the system and probably won’t buy if for 1-3 months anyway. I have time to research/modify. =P There is a ton of additional research I plan on doing before I will feel like I’m “done.”
Final thought: I don’t mind coming down from my budget, really $4k was more of a soft max. I am going to “build” a more economical PC in addition to see how similar it is.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-6.html the $190 i5-4460 is sitting at 97% for skyrim vs the $340 i7-4790k which is only 3% more. I imagine there are similar trends across the board for PC hardware, huge savings for marginal performance loss. At the end of the day what matters is being able to play on ultra settings and all mods at 60fps. If I can get that for a lot less cash…then great =P.
I would like to thank those who are following this thread again. It’s nice to be able to get advice from knowledgeable people.